The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
At a forward side of an instrument panel provided in a vehicle front portion, a steering support beam is mounted so as to bridge right and left front pillars of the vehicle. Such a steering support beam secures sufficient rigidity and strength against a collision, etc., from the side of the vehicle. A plurality of brackets are to be welded to the steering support beam, and various vehicle parts are to be fixed to the brackets.
In welding the brackets to the steering support beam, brazing jigs are used to position the brackets with a high degree of accuracy. However, in cases where plural brackets are positioned with such brazing jigs, the structure of the jig becomes complicated, deteriorating the welding workability. Furthermore, in cases where a bracket to which a large-load stay is to be fixed is welded to the steering support beam, it is required to pay special attention to, e.g., a joint shape and/or welding quality so as not to cause stress concentration.
As a technique for facilitating positioning of brackets, it is known that a flange, an internal fitting groove or the like is formed along the longitudinal direction of a support beam so that brackets can be fitted to the flange or the groove (see JP, H05-238421, A (claims 1 and 3 and FIGS. 1 and 7), and JP, 2004-501024, A (claim 1 and FIG. 1), for example).
According to the technique disclosed by the aforementioned patent documents, although positioning of brackets can be facilitated, welding workability deteriorates due to the existence of the flange or the internal fitting groove. In cases where a flange is formed along a longitudinal direction of a steering support beam, it becomes difficult to decrease the entire weight of the steering support beam because the flange increases the entire weight, and furthermore the manufacturing cost of the steering support beam increases. On the other hand, in cases where an internal fitting groove is formed along the longitudinal direction of the steering support beam, it is required to increase the thickness of the beam peripheral wall to form the groove, increasing the weight of the beam, which in turn makes it difficult to decrease the weight.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following preferred embodiments.